Deadly breast cancer rises in young women

Big increase is 'accelerating over time,' researcher says

7:32 PM,
Feb. 26, 2013

Dr. Rebecca Johnson, a cancer specialist at Seattle Children's Hospital, in an exam room at the hospital in Seattle. Johnson is the lead author of a new study that shows that advanced breast cancer cases have increased among young women.

Written by

Liz Szabo
| USA Today

At a time when the U.S. is making progress overall against cancer, a new study documents a worrisome rise in the number of young women diagnosed with advanced, incurable breast cancer.

The number of American women ages 25 to 39 diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer - which has already spread to other organs by the time it's found - rose about 3.5 percent a year from 2000 to 2009, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The trend began in the 1970s, although the most rapid increases occurred in about the past decade, the study said. The study doesn't provide any ...